Cardiff has become one of the most sought after restaurant locations in the UK, according to commercial property experts EJ Hales.
The leisure specialists say that such is the demand from restauranteurs seeking representation in the city centre that significant premiums are now being offered to entice existing operators to sell their leases.
EJ Hales has over 60 established restaurant and bar operators seeking sites in the city. Many are London-based operators and having piloted their concepts there, they are now ready to replicate and improve their offerings in the major UK cities.
Recent high profile deals in Cardiff include Five Guys, Wahaca, Tortilla, Shake Shack and Burger and Lobster.
Phil Morris, partner in charge of leisure at EJ Hales, has been responsible for brokering most of these recent deals. He commented: “In my 20 years of working in Cardiff, I have never witnessed this level of demand from restauranteurs.
“Cardiff now tops most restauranteurs’ lists of target locations that they are keen to secure within the UK. We are constantly contacted by operators desperately keen to secure strong sites in Cardiff city centre. With the difficulty in achieving new restaurant consents on existing retail units this means that these parties have to focus on acquiring existing restaurants where the consents are already in place.
“We have a list of over sixty parties still seeking restaurant accommodation in Cardiff so we believe that this competitive situation for sites is going to continue for some time.
“Many of the requirements are focusing in the prime central areas around The Hayes and Mill Lane. However, as seeking suitable properties here is getting more and more difficult the interest is inevitably rippling out towards locations that are deemed slightly more secondary such as St Mary Street and Westgate Street. Turtle Bay is currently fitting out the old Barclays on High Street and it’s great to see quality operators like this investing here.
“It is great that there is this level of demand as it will ultimately give us all more new and exciting places to eat and drink in.
“It’s surprising how quickly a leisure scene can go flat unless it’s constantly refreshing itself with new concepts and ideas. With the demand for Cardiff so strong it ensures its heady status will survive long into the future.”
EJ Hales has been at the forefront of the South Wales commercial property market for over 80 years and specialises in retail and leisure property. It has acted for a number of landlords in Cardiff bringing in eateries including Five Guys, Côte, GBK, Bill’s and Carluccio’s.